CINCINNATI: Cincinnati's mayor is suing the city to determine whether he's legally entitled to his health benefits and $500-a-month car allowance.

That's after an anti-tax group called COAST threatened to file suit to stop the car money. COAST claims the payments are an illegal addition to Mayor Mark Mallory's $121,000 salary.

The Cincinnati Enquirer reports an attorney who filed Mallory's lawsuit on Monday wrote in court documents that the mayor would suffer "irreparable injury" if he's ever ordered to pay back the car allowance. The newspaper estimates Democrat Mallory has received about $30,000 for his car use since 2005.

Republican City Councilman Wayne Lippert calls the mayor's lawsuit an insult. He complains taxpayers might wind up paying for an outside lawyer so the city can defend itself.